


Hit or Miss

by AchieverHuntment



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Angst, Fake AH Crew, GTA AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-15 17:13:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5793055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AchieverHuntment/pseuds/AchieverHuntment
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A routine heist goes a bit awry and leaves the crew wondering what's next.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hit or Miss

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this on a long car ride home and when you spend that long looking out windows and reminiscing, you end up writing about sad things; and also no longer relevant topics, but whatever.

“Ray, you’ll be sniping, as per usual. I’ll have you staked out on the building across from the bank- you know what I mean, we’ve done this a million times before.”

Geoff rustled through the stacks of papers on their planning table, sending some flying. “Uh… Blah blah blah, oh here it is!” He held up a packet that looked worse for wear, with ripped pages and bent corners.

“Now don’t call me lazy, but-” “Lazy.” Gavin interjected. “Shut up!” Geoff snapped back. “Anyway, we’re practically using our original heist plan. It worked well for us, right? So fuck it, we’ll use it again!”

He closed his eyes in thought again. “Except… Ryan.” He turned to the masked man. “I’m putting you on explosives duty.”

“Geoff, what the fuck?! I’m your explosives guy, right? I’ve been on bomb duty since day one!” Michael shouted, turning towards Ryan with a flabbergasted look. Ryan only shrugged.

“Don’t blame me, dude. Yell at Geoff.” He replied. Geoff sighed and rolled his eyes. “Okay, okay, I know you’re our explosives guy Michael, but… I need you on the front lines. The cops know you’re our bomb guy so we gotta… You know, mix it up!”

Michael muttered something under his breath that sounded reminiscent of “I’ll mix you up”.

“I’ll let you use your mini-gun!” Geoff offered. Michael glanced up with a slight grin on his face. “Fine, fine, I’ll be your gunman.”

“So, that’s settled. Gav, you’re with Michael too, but also back-up for Ryan if he needs it. Stick with whoever, I don’t really give a shit.” Gavin nodded, slipping his sunglasses on in an attempt to look cool.

“Me and Jack are your getaway drivers. Hop in with whoever’s closest when there’s an opening. We’ll be parked on either side of the bank.” Geoff looked around the room to make sure everyone was listening.

“Ray, you’ll have your bike, so whenever we roll out, you hop on your Sanchez and meet us at the rendezvous, alright? …Ray?”

Ray seemed to be stuck in some other mindset. He eventually glanced back at Geoff. “Uh- yeah, yeah. Got it.”

Geoff furrowed his brow for a second before looking back at the plan he was holding. Flipping through it, he took out a marker and scratched over some things, then tossed it back on to the table. “Look over it, or whatever.”

Gavin yanked it off the table right away, as if there would be a fight for it. Everyone just looked at him for a minute before filing out of the planning room.

Ray ended up hanging back to walk out with Gavin. “What am I doing again?” He asked. Gav laughed. “Good one. I was almost convinced you didn’t know the plan.” Ray side glanced at Gavin. “Because I don’t know it. I wasn’t paying attention”

“Wow, really? Okay, well it’s pretty much a repeat of our first heist. Except Ryan’s on explosives, and Michael is with me taking out police, yeah?”

Ray looked up in thought. “Oh okay, I’ll see if I can remember a heist from like, three years ago, sure.” “Cool! We’re heading out in a few-” Ray snorted, looking over at Gavin again. “Sarcasm, dude. I can’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning, let alone something from nearly thirty six months ago.”

“Oh. Well, we’re still heading out in less than ten minutes, so…” Gav looked down at the packet in his hand, and tossed it to Ray. “You’ll probably need that more than me. Hopefully it’ll refresh your memory.”

Ray looked at the booklet, nearly twenty pages long, and tossed it behind him, following Gavin out the door.

***

The earpiece in Ray’s ear crackled to life. “Alright, well I’d like to think we’ve learned something in the time since we originally did this heist.” Geoff’s muffled voice said. “But I don’t think we have. So just… Do whatever. But don’t be stupid.”

Ray pulled up to the building across from the bank. Now that he thought about it, it did seem familiar. He remembered climbing the ladder up the building and missing the last rung, and nearly falling off.

“Gavin can’t make any promises about not being stupid, but-” “Michael, shut up!” The two bickered, Ray snorting before turning down the volume of his headset. Now it sounded like they were arguing behind a closed door, which Ray could tolerate more than them being right in his ear

He glanced at his sniper rifle as he settled into a comfortable shooting position on his stomach, with the nozzle of the gun perched over the side of the building.

The pink finish of the weapon glistened in the late afternoon sun. It made him laugh thinking about when he first bought the thing all those years ago, as a joke at first- but now it had become some signature thing about him. Another part of him felt almost sentimental, but Ray disregarded that.

The light voices in his ear were quiet again. Each passing minute seemed to drag on longer than they should, but eventually Gavin and Michael got into position outside the bank, and his ears rang slightly when the several bombs inside the bank went off.

He could hear Gavin laugh at Michael who burst in yelling “GIMME THE CASH, BITCHES!” Ray turned his earpiece down to almost silent, putting his eye up to the scope and focusing on what was happening.

Cops arrived in less than two minutes. They practically lived at the bank, with how many robberies happened every month. Ray took a few deep breaths, steadying himself. He shot out the tires on the five police cars that showed up.

He thought back to their first heist, which he was starting to remember more and more. It was the first official thing they did as a crew, all six of them together. He barely could hit a moving target back then, but somehow he had managed to shoot close to half the cops that had showed up. From then on, everyone deemed him as the best shot in the crew.

Over the years, he had to seem to garner more and more signatures. He didn’t mind, but he realized it would be something he’d miss when-

“Not right now…” He told himself out loud. He had a job to do, he didn’t need to be sidetracked by anything else.

He shot a cop in the head, then another one, then another one. Michael and Gavin had ran back outside to take out any remaining cops, and Ryan was still busy inside, grabbing as much cash as he could.

More police officers pulled up, and Ray steadied himself again. He put all his focus into shooting out all the tires on each cop car. Lining up his shot, he sent a bullet flying… and it missed the wheel by a whole foot.

So, maybe not all his focus was put into that shot. Ray sighed and tried clearing his thoughts. He took a deep breath, and let another bullet fly. It ricocheted off the road and managed to land in a tire, but Ray was still mad at himself for being off target.

Even with his headset turned down, he heard someone telling him to get his act together. Probably Geoff, but he couldn’t tell.

The noise of Michael’s mini-gun firing drowned out any remaining sound Ray could hear. He sent out a few more shots that were a little more accurate, but still not where he wanted them. Ray was convinced it was his gun’s fault, but he knew that excuse wouldn’t work with how much he cleaned and took care of it.

Ryan came out of the bank with the duffel bag full of cash slung over his shoulder, and right on cue, Geoff and Jack pulled up in their SUVs.

Ray didn’t drop his guard, but with the next round of cops a few blocks away, he turned up his earpiece again. He watched the conversation take place through his scope. Gavin reloaded his gun, and nodded to his other gunman. “Alright boi, I’m going with Geoff– MICHAEL!”

A guard from the bank had snuck up behind Michael- Ray couldn’t believe he had missed him- and had his gun against Michael’s head. Gavin and Ryan trained their guns on the guard, who in turn made Michael his human shield.

“Shoot me! You’ll have to put a bullet through him first!” He taunted. Gavin and Ryan looked between each other. Ray heard Geoff over his headset, somewhat quiet. “Ray. Take the shot.”

Of course it came down to a life-death situation with a crew member, a situation in which Ray seemed to be struggling with. There was absolutely no way he would be able to hit the guard, with the way his aim was today.

And he was right.

Ray knew he didn’t have much time. He tried to calm himself, but his hands were already shaky. He was fucked, but he shot at the guard anyway.

The bullet seemed to move in slow motion, Ray watching as it spiraled away from the guard, and right into Michael’s shoulder.

The sound of the bullet entering his skin seemed amplified over Ray’s earpiece. Michael’s cries of pain rang out as he collapsed, and Gavin quickly shot the guard as Ryan ran over to hoist Michael over his shoulder to get him into Geoff’s SUV.

The world around Ray seemed to freeze, but the noise of everyone trying to help Michael and get away before more cops showed up still blared in his ears.

“Ryan, leave Michael here but go with Jack. Gavin, you stay here. We might have some police on our tail. We need to get going.” Geoff barked out orders. His voice was tinged with worry. Even with him trying to act calm, it didn’t help.

The two matte black SUVs pulled away from the bank and sped off, heading towards the country. “Ray, if you ever come back to your senses, get to the fucking rendezvous.” Geoff yelled. It seemed almost threatening, but more concerned than anything else.

The Fake AH Crew’s renowned sniper had definitely come back to his senses, but he had already taken out his headset and smashed it with his foot. He knew everyone would be mad at him. He didn’t need to hear something he already knew.

Ray would’ve smashed his rifle too, but he didn’t want to end up hitting the trigger in the process.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. How could he mess up such a simple shot? He knew it wouldn’t help to beat himself up over it, but he did anyway. He knew he’d have to go back to the crew and face everyone.

Or maybe he could leave earlier than expected. Ray shook his head, still shaking with anger. He would have to own up to his mistake. They would eventually forgive him… Right?

He picked up the few bits of wire and plastic that was left of his headset and chucked it off the roof. It was pointless, but it helped him vent some of his frustration.

Sliding down the ladder, he kept an eye out for any trailing cops that might be left over. Sirens wailed in the distance, but none near him. He got on his motorcycle and sped off into the setting sun, dreading what he’d soon have to face.

***

The old lumberyard wasn’t anything spectacular, but it had been used by the Fake AH Crew more times than they could count. It made a great cover for them, and the only downside they ever faced there was the sawdust making someone sneeze.

Until the place would inevitably be discovered, it was their rendezvous for about 75% of their heists.

The rumble of Ray’s motorcycle engine grew louder as it started echoing off the walls of the approaching building. He saw tire marks going behind the building, meaning the rest of his crew would there.

This was both a good and bad thing for Ray. Good in that they had evaded the cops, bad in that Ray had just fucking shot Michael, and everyone would be livid at him.

He took a quick look around, making sure nobody would see him pull behind the abandoned factory.

On the drive over, Ray had come to a settlement with himself. He’d been debating something for a while, and with the fact that he’d just shot Michael fresh on his mind, he had decided what he would do.

He drove behind the lumberyard, and parked in the concealed garage. He saw the getaway cars. One of them had blood leading from the door into the old office they usually worked out of.

He had to face this now. Ray put down the bike’s kickstand, and put up his hood. The purple fabric of the sweatshirt he wore everyday was another trademark of his, and even with the severity of the situation, he found some comfort and nostalgia in wearing it. He felt like he could almost use it to hide himself.

Making sure not to step in any of the blood, Ray made his way up the few steps to the office. He paused, unsure whether to knock or let himself in. Before he could decide, the door swung open and he was forced to face everyone immediately.

The crew was seated around the long table they often sat at to celebrate. The tension in the air made the room feel like a graveyard, which Ray grimly thought could be the case. However, he saw Michael was being tended to by Caleb, who must’ve been picked up on the way.

Geoff was pounding back a beer, and whispering with Jack. Gavin sat next to Geoff, looking like he’d seen a ghost. Ryan was looking down at Ray- he had been the one to open the door.

Ray remained silent. He grimaced as he thought about how that was another signature trait about him. The “silent but deadly” type. He wished he didn’t have that title at a time like this.

Geoff eventually looked up at Ray, everyone else eventually following suit- except Caleb and Michael, the latter appearing to be unconscious, and the first hard at work trying to take a bullet out of him.

Ray cautiously stepped forward, unsure what to do. Ryan let the door close behind him. The two looked at each other. Ryan’s mask was off, which was somewhat reassuring to Ray, being able to see Ryan’s face for once- but also terrifying, because of the running face paint.

“Are you okay?” Ryan asked.

Ray gave him a confused look. Ryan was asking if _he_ was okay? Shouldn’t they be more worried about Michael? Despite this, Ray still nodded slightly. To be fair, he definitely wasn’t okay mentally, but he had assumed Ryan meant physically.

It was quiet again, besides the noise of Caleb rifling through his first aid kit. Ray looked at the ground. Now what, he thought. Wait here awkwardly until Michael gained consciousness again so he could yell at Ray?

Geoff stood up suddenly. Ray looked at his boss, fear not obvious in his face, but he definitely felt it in the pit of his stomach. Jack and Gavin looked between each other, watching as Geoff made his way over to Ray, who stood there, bracing himself for whatever might be coming his way.

A few feet away from Ray, Geoff stopped. He looked at his shoes for a second or two before finally saying something.

“What happened?”

Ray took a deep breath, but immediately exhaled. The last time he held his breath, he ended up ruining his aim and nearly killing Michael.

“If I fucking knew I could tell you, but- but I don’t know. Something just happened and- I couldn’t shoot straight.”

Geoff shook his head. “No. You know what happened. What was different today?” Ray shrugged. “Nothing! I told you, I have no idea.”

His boss glared at him. “Ray. I know you better than you might think. Something messed you up, something distracted you. That’s the only way I could ever see you missing a shot.”

Ray knew exactly what he was talking about, but he couldn’t bring it up yet. “Geoff, I swear to god, there wasn’t-”

“For fuck’s sake, Ray. What’s wrong? We’re your crew, we’re supposed to be here for you. We’re your fucked up family that’ll have your back, but if you can’t tell us what’s wrong, nothing’s gonna get better.”

Ray ignored him. “Is Michael okay?”

“No he’s not fucking okay, you nearly blew the kid’s arm off. A nice shot if you wanted to amputate him. Now what’s wrong?”

If he didn’t feel guilty before, he did now. Ray couldn’t imagine the shot hurt Michael that bad… He thought it was far enough away that it would lessen the impact. Now that he was thinking about it more, Michael must’ve had to have bled enough to pass out. He really had hurt Michael.

Ray sighed. “Alright, Geoff. You’re right, there’s something up, but- I can’t say much more about it.” Gavin finally spoke, standing up as he did. “Ray, come on. What could have possibly messed you up enough to make you misfire?”

“Fine, you know what? I’ve been- I’ve been thinking about leaving the crew. And it was fucking me up, because we were redoing our first heist, and I thought about all the good times we’ve had, and making me think twice. But I’ve made up my mind, now. No more bad aim or nearly killing a teammate, because I’m leaving.”

The room was stunned back into silence. Geoff no longer looked angry, but shocked. “Ray… Are- are you serious?” He asked. Ray nodded, confident in his decision. “I’m- god, I’m sorry Geoff. I wanted to leave on a good goddamn note, but… I don’t want to stay any longer. I just need to go now.”

“Ray… If this is because you shot Michael-” Jack started. “It’s not. This has been on my mind for a while. I need to start on a new foot somewhere else.”

Gavin practically vaulted over the table just to hug Ray. “If- if you’re sure…” He mumbled. Ray grimaced. If he didn’t feel upset before, now he would with everyone bidding him goodbye.

He wrapped his arms around Gavin. “Yeah, um… This is something I have to do.” He answered. Gav eventually let go of him and scratched at the back of his neck. “I’ll uh… I’ll miss you, man.”

Ray nodded. Jack stepped forward next, and gave him a hug. “If this is what’s best for you…” He smiled sadly, and backed away to give Ray space.

Ryan pulled Ray into a quick but firm hug, which he found surprisingly sentimental. Ray wasn’t sure if anyone of the crew, excluding Gavin, had ever hugged him before. It made the whole goodbye experience feel much more tragic.

Caleb glanced up at Ray. Neither of them really ever made friends with the other, and solemnly nodded instead. Ray knew he would forever regret not waiting for Michael to wake up to say goodbye, but he couldn’t stay here much longer or else he would cave in and end up staying.

A moment passed before Ray moved again, turning to leave. Everything felt so sudden to him, and he felt as shocked as everyone else. He just needed to go before he had second thoughts.

He barely moved another inch before Geoff pulled him into a hug. “We’re gonna miss you, Ray. But- I understand if you want to move on. Just… Don’t be a stranger, alright?”

Ray nodded, returning the hug. They eventually moved away from each other, and he looked around the room. Definitely not the note Ray wanted to leave on, but it was now or never.

He pulled the door open, avoiding stepping in the blood again as he made his way to his bike, and backed out of the garage. With his rifle strapped to his back, he revved the engine and let the wind take off his hood as he sped through the now dark night, driving head first into whatever his next plan would be.

***


End file.
